Grading-machine.



C. K. STOCKLAND.

GRADING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 18, 1913.

Lmmw Patented Jan. 5, 1915.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

90 Wifnesses: [7706 77/02:

CHARLES K. STOCKLAND, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

GRADING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 5, 19115..

Application fil ed July 18, 1913. Serial No. 779,766.

To all who/n. it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES K. STOCK- mru), a citizen of the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in (irading-l'vlachines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to grading machines and particularly to that type of grading machines known as a standard reversible grader in which the mold board or scraper blade is carried by a wheel-supported frame of symmetrically balanced type and is adapted to be raised and lowered and reversed in position to operate either right or left by means of supporting and operating parts mounted upon the said frame.

It is an object of my invention to provide quick operating mechanism for raising and lowering the scraper blade and supporting mechanism bodily and uniformly in addition to the usual worm wheel devices for gradually lifting either side of the scraper blade and its supports.

It is a further object of my invention to provide novel means for rotating and shifting laterally the support for the scraper blade so as to vary the angle of the blade with respect to the line of draft of the machine together with readily controlled means for locking said scraper blade in any desired angular position.

The full objects and advantages of my invention will appear in connection with the detailed description thereof and are particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings illustrating the application of my invention in one form,Figure 1 is a plan view of a standard reversible road machine embodying the principles of my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of such a machine. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of a part of the mechanism taken across the machine, and Fig. 4 an elevation of similar parts taken longitudinally of the machine, said parts being in a normal or operative position when the scraper is in operation. Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3. and Fig. 6 a View similar to Fi 4 showing the parts in the position whic they assume after my improved mechanism has been operated for quick lifting of the scraper blade. Figs. 7 and 8 are detail views of the means foi shifting the scraper blade and support therefor laterallv of the marights 20.

chine frame. Fig. 9 is a face view of the worm for effecting this shifting action. Figs. 10 and 11 are detail views showing the means for locking the rotary scraper frame in position.

My machine comprises a front truck 15 mounted upon wheels 16 and a rear truck 17 mounted upon wheels 18, said rear truck including a platform 19. The truck 15 has thereon standards 20 rigidly secured to get-her intermediate their ends by a heavv cross-bar 21. To the tops of the uprights 20 are secured longitudinal frame pieces 22 and 23 integrally united at their front ends by a crossbar 24 and secured to the platform 19 of truck 17 by means of obliquely descending standards or supports 25, said side frame membersbeing additionally secured together laterally by means of crossbars 26 and 27 at the center and near the rear, respectively, of said frames. Upon the truck 17 and platform 19 are erected a pair of uprights 28 rigidly secured at their upper ends by a crossbar 29 and upon these uprights are mounted the usual hand wheels and worm gears for operating the scraper blade frame, as will hereinafter be described.

All of the above described parts are or may be of well known construction.

The scraper blade 30 is carried upon a frame bar 31 which frame bar is integrally connected with a circle 32 rotatably carried within a circular frame 33, the frame 33 being rigidly secured to bars 34 and 35, which bars are upwardly arched, as indicated at 36 in Fig. 2, and converge and are secured to a short drawbar 37 which is pivotally connected with the crossbar 21, hereinbefore described, at a point midway between up- The scraper blade is therefore drawn from the crossbar 21 at the front of the machine, and the frame carrying the blade is adapted to be raised and lowered, rotated and oscillated from side to side by the means which will now be described.

As best shown in Fig. 7, a pair of stand ards 38 and 39 are secured to longitudinal frame members 22 and 23 adjacent the crossbar 27 and are further secured by braces 40 and 41. The tops of standards 38 and 39 are at the same height as the tops of standards 28. Journaled in the pairs of standards 28 and 39 at one side and 28 and 38 at the other side are rock shafts 42 and 43, each of said rock shafts having at the end thereof an outwardly extended arm 44 to which is pivotally connected a link 45, which links in turn are each pivotally connected with arms 46' rigidly attached to and extending outwardly from the frame 33, and the bars 34 and 35 thereon. The other ends of the shafts 42 and 43, after the same have passed through the uprights 28, have secured thereona worm wheel 47 meshing with a worm 48 on a short shaft 49 journaled in ears 50 and 51 secured to an arcshaped member 52 slidable in and' resting upon a guide bracket 53 which is fast on upright 28. As best indicated by dotted lines in Figs. 3 and 5, the arc-shaped member 52 is provided with an ear or offset 54 by which the same is journaled upon the shaft 42, and the arc-shaped member 52 is curved in an are having its center in the center of said shaft 42 so that the member 52 is adapted to oscillate about the center of shaft 42 and when so oscillated will, on account of the connection of said shaft, thereby, through worm wheel 47 and worm 48, oscillate the shaft 42 to the same extent that the arc member 52 is "oscillated.

Upon each of short shafts 49 is a large hand wheel 55. When the hand wheel 55 is turned it will, through worm 48 and Worm wheel 47, turn rock shaft 42 and move arm 44 in a direction to raise or lower the part of the frame 33 at whichever side of the machine a hand wheel 55 may be operated. If both hand wheels 55 are operated simultaneously the frame 33 and with it the scraper 30 will be lifted as an entirety, but under the most favorable conditions this movement is necessarily quite slow. It is frequently desirable, to avoid a stump orrock or for other causes, to lift the scraper blade in its entirety quickly, and this cannot be done from the operation of worm wheels 47. The arc-shaped members 52 are connected by means of links 56 with arms 57 journaled at their inner ends to brackets 58 carried by uprights 28. The arms 57 at opposite sides of the machine are rigidly connected together by a shaft 59.'

Fast on the shaft 59 is a lever GOadapted to be held in any desired position by means of a detent 61 operating in a notched segment 62. When the lever 60 is operated it will simultaneously swing the arms 57 outwardly and downwardly operating through links 56 to draw the arc-shaped member 62 and the parts carried thereby into the position shown in Figs. 5 and 6, in which arms 44 will have been swung upwardly so as, through links 45, to lift the frame 33 and the scraper blade 30 to the desired height, and this operation will take place as rapidly as the lever 60 can be pulled by the operator. The frame will be held in elevated position by means of the detent 61. Springs 63 secured between the platform 19 and the arms 57 are extended when the frame 33 and scraper blade 30 are lowered into operative position, and the contraction of these springs aids in balancing the weight of the frame so that it is easier to lift the same by the lever 60. In order that the strain of holding the scraper down to its work may not come entirely upon the ratchet or dog 61 a catch 64 may be provided on links 56. which catch may be turned to engage over the crossbar 29.

The circle 32, as clearly shown in Fig. l. is provided on its upper surface with bevel gear teeth 65, which gear teeth mesh with the teeth of a pinion (36 on a shaft 67 journaled at its forward end in a projection (33 extended from frame circle 33, the shaft 67 extending to the rear of the machine "above platform 19 where it is provided with a hand wheel 69. By turning the hand wheel 69 the circle may be rotated, by means of which the angular position of the scraper blade 30 with respect to the line of travel of the machine may be varied and reversed at will. It is necessary, however. to lock the circle 32 in position and it is desirable to provide locking means which may be readily operated for releasing the circle 32 when desired. This I accomplish by means of a pin 70 sliding through an aperture 71 in frame piece 33 and engage able in notches 74 formed in the outer periphery of circle 32. The pin 70 is normally held in its lowered position by means of a spring 75 surrounding pin 70 above a collar 76 on said pin, said spring abutting at its upper end against a ring 77 extended inwardly from a stand 78. The stand 78 is formed with a beveled upper surface 7 9, as clearly shown in Figs. 10 and 11. The pin 70 extends through a head 80 having its lower surface correspondingly beveled, as indicated at 81, and engageable with the beveled surface 79 of stand 78. An arm 82 is provided on head 80 which is pivotally connected to a'rod 83 having a handled end 84 thereof at a point convenient to the operator. When the rod 83 is pulled toward the operator it results in rotating the head 89 and the pin 70. Engagement of the bevel face 81 on head 80 with bevel face 79 on 1 stand 78 results in quickly elevating the head 80 and pin 70 against the pressure of spring 79, which, when the rod 83 is released, will return the parts to locking po sition.

It is frequently desirable in a grading machine of the standard reversible type to project the scraper blade more at one. side than at the other, as where the side of a roadway is being trimmed up and the slope is quite steep it would not be desirable. to run the wheels of the scraper support upon such slop'e. As already pointed out. the frame 33 is suspended by the links 45 from the arms 44. This frame is held from mama lateral oscillation by means of a link 85 pivotally connected at its outer end to one of the brackets 46 and at its inner end to the center of a hub 86 on a piece 87 slidably mounted upon the crossbar 26, as best shown in Figs. 7 and 8. The crossbar 26 has on the side thereof a series of pins or teeth 88. The piece 87 is provided with a chambered portion adjacent the toothed side of the crossbar 26 and within this chambered portion operates ahead 89 having on the face thereof a spiral flange or worm 90 which engages between teeth 88 on bar 26 and holds the piece fixed on said bar, which, through link 85, holds the frame 33 from lateral oscillation. The head 89 is on a spindle 91 which extends through the center of hub 86 and is held in the proper position by means of a set collar 92. The spindle 91 is connected by a universal joint 93 with a shaft 94 journaled at its rear end in a hanger 95 depending from crossbar 27. The shaft 94 has on the end thereof a hand wheel 96 in convenient position to be grasped by an operator standing upon platform 19. When the shaft 94- is rotated the worm 90 will engage successive pins or teeth 88 and move piece 87 and with it the frame 33 and parts carried thereby laterally along crossbar 26 holding the parts locked in whatever position the operator may leave the same.

It will be obvious that by means of my improvements a highly efficient, convenient and easily operated control mechanism for the scraper blade of a standard reversible road machine is provided. The operator may at any time. by means of the lever 60, lift the scraper blade instantly to inopera tive position while at the same time having the graduated control of the blade which is provided by means of the well known worm and worm wheel gear. The latching device for locking the circle in position is always dependable and yet may be operated with the utmost ease whenever it is.

desired to change the angularity of the blade. The means for shifting the frame and blade from one side to the other of the machine is easy and quick to operate and does not detract in any way from the strength and efficiency of the machine in' other particulars.

I claim:

1. A grading machine comprising a wheelsupported frame, a scraper blade, a pair of lifting elements by means of which said scraper blade is supported from the frame and which are operable to lift the same in a substantially vertical plane, means for operating each of said liftin elements independently to lift or lower either end of said scraper blade, and means for simultaneously operating said lifting elements to quickly lift or lower the entire scraper blade bodily.

- 2. Agrading machine comprisinga wheelsupported frame, a scraper blade connected With said frame, worm gear mechanism and hand wheels for operating the same having connections with said scraper blade for lifting and lowering the same, supports for said worm gear mechanism, and means having connection with said supports for operating the lifting devices independently of the Worm gear mechanism.

3. A grading machine comprisinga wheelsupported frame, ascraper blade connected with said frame, rock shafts havin connection with the scraper blade for li ting and lowering the same, gear mechanism and hand wheels connected therewith for operating the rock shafts, and means for operating said rock shafts independently of the gear mechanism.

4. A grading machine comprising a wheel-supported frame, a scraper blade connected with said frame, rock shafts having connection with the scraper blade for lifting and lowering the same, worm gear mechanism and hand wheels connected therewith for operating the rock shafts, a movable support for said worm gear mecl1ani sm, and means for moving said supports for operating said rock shafts independently of the worm gear mechanism.

5. A grading machine comprising a wheel-supported frame, a scraper blade connected with said frame, rock shafts having connection with the scraper blade for lifting and lowering the same, worm gear mechanism and hand wheels connected therewith for operating the rock shafts, supports for said worm gear mechanism movable about the axial centers of said rock shafts, said rock shafts being connected to move with said supports by said worm gear mechanism, and means for moving said supports and rock shafts.

6. A grading machine comprising a wheel-supported frame, a scraper blade connected with said frame, rock shafts having connection with the scraper blade for lifting and lowering the same, arc-shaped supports having pivotal connection to move about the rock shafts, worm gear mechanism and hand wheels connected therewith mounted on said supports for operating the rock shafts, and means for moving the supports and worm gear mechanism bodily about the axial centers of the rock shafts for operating the same independently of the worm gear mechanism.

7. A grading machine comprising a wheel-supported frame, a scraper blade connected with said frame, rock shafts having connection with the scraper blade for lifting and lowering the same, supports pivoted to oscillate about the axial centers of the rock shafts, worm gear mechanism and hand wheels connected therewith mounted upon nections therefrom to said arc-shaped arms for moving the supports about the axial centers of and with the rock shafts to effect quick lifting or lowering of the scraper blade.

8. A grading machine comprising a wheel-supported frame, a scraper blade connected with said frame, rock shafts having connection with the scraper blade for lifting and lowering the same, supports pivoted to oscillate about the axial centers of the rock shafts, worm gear mechanism and hand wheels connected therewith mounted upon said supports, arc-shaped arms forming a part of said supports, a lever and connections therefrom to said arc-shaped arms for moving the supports about the axial centers of and with the rock shafts to effect quick lifting or lowering of the scraper blade, and springs extended by the lowering of the blade to assist the action of the lever in raising the same.

9. A grading machine comprising a wheel supported frame, a scraper blade having draft connection with said frame such as to permit vertical oscillation of said blade, a pair of uprights on each side of the frame, rock shafts journaled in said uprights, arms on the rock shafts and connections therefrom for supporting the scraper blade, guides on each of the rear uprights, sup ports pivoted to oscillate about the axial centers of the rock shafts and having arms each formed in the arc of a circle having its center at the axial center of the rock shaft, said arms being slidable in said guides, means for rotating the rock shafts mounted on said supports and connecting the rock shafts to move therewith, and means for moving said supports and rock shafts.

10. A grading machine comprising a wheel-supported frame,.a scraper blade having draft connection with said frame such as to permit vertical oscillation of said blade, a pair of uprights on each side of the frame, rock shafts journaled in said uprights, arms on the rock shafts and connections therefrom for supporting the scraper blade, guides on each of the rear uprights, supports fpivoted to oscillate about the axial centers 0 the rock shafts and having arms each formed in the arc of a circle having its center at the axial center of the rock shaft, sa1d arms being slidable in said guides, means for rotating the rock shafts mounted on said supports and connecting the rock shafts to move therewith, and a lever and connections therefrom to said arc-shaped arms for moving the supports about the axial centers of and with the rock shafts to effect quick lifting or lowering of the scraper blade.

11. A grading machine comprising a wheel-supported frame, a scraper blade connected with said frame, rock shafts having supporting connection with the blade, supports having pivotal connection to move about the rock shafts, means mounted on the supports connecting said rock shafts to move with the supports and adapted to rotate the rock shafts independently of the supports, and means to move the supports about the axial centers of and with the rock shafts to effect quick lifting or lowering of the scraper blade.

12. A grading machine comprising a wheelsupported frame, rock shafts, a scraper blade connected with said frame and rock shafts, supports having pivotal connection to move about the rock shafts, means mounted on the supports connecting said rock shafts to move with the supports and adapted to rotate the rock shafts independently of the supports, a shaft eccentrically mounted, links connecting said shafts with said supports, and a lever rigidly secured to the shaft for operating the same to move the supports about the axial centers of and with the rock shafts to effect quick lifting or lowering of the scraper blade.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES K. STOCKLAND.

WVitnesses H. A. BOWMAN, F. A. WHITELEY. 

